Combining Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Chatbots

Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and chatbots are cutting-edge technologies portraying scientific advancements in the way we perceive our surroundings. When combined with each other, they have the potential to revolutionize traditional business and market settings.

Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that merges elements of the virtual world with our real life surroundings, enhancing how we feel, hear, and see things around us. Virtual Reality (VR) is a three-dimensional software-generated environment aided by sensory impressions and experiences for a user to enjoy using a specialized VR equipment. Chatbots, on the other hand, are computer programs developed to interact with humans through textual or auditory methods. AR and VR as technologies, and chatbots as an application, are widely used today to narrow down the gap between the virtual and the real world. Keeping this in mind, a lot of companies have been employing AR, VR, and chatbots technologies, albeit in silos, to offer their customers a better trade experience, both online and offline.

AR, VR, and Chatbots Combined

Source: Eastern Peak

In the recent years, companies have realized that AR, VR, and chatbots have immense synergistic potential when combined with each other. Looking upon these technologies as complementary platforms rather than individual applications, research and experiments have been performed to see how well they overlap with each other.

• AR is frequently used with conversational chatbots in e-commerce websites. Be it cosmetics, apparels or an insurance policy, a live demo of how the product would complement the user’s needs can help market and capitalize a brand best. For instance, Sephora’s Virtual Artist offers its customers a novel way to shop. Customers can start a chat with the assistant chatbot, and it will help them pick the right beauty product from a wide collection. The virtual artist also offers a ‘Try It On’ feature that lets customers upload their image to see how a product will look on them.
  
  
• The tourism industry combines VR and AR trends to help customers plan a trip better. Hotels offer 360-degree tour videos and photos of their property to promote their space. Companies like Thomas Cook provide an option to ‘visualize’ your entire trip before you finalize a destination.
  
  
• All these three technologies put together can immensely change the way we learn. Students of architecture, civil and mechanical engineering will be able to envision projects and blueprints better with the combination of AR, VR, and chatbots.

Potential Problems and Shortcomings

Source: Chatbots Life

The idea to combine the three domains seems effortless on paper. However, intrinsic differences in the opeartional mechanisms of AR,VR, and chatbots make seamless collaboration a bit challenging.

AR requires awareness of location. Chatbots rely on understanding semantics and speech-to-text conversions. VR systems need detailed inputs on various different sensory perceptions to deliver a full-fledged experience in return.

A significant amount of data would be required for a high-quality result, if the three were to be combined. Generation, collection, and storage of such massive data can be a problem. For instance, the information collected might include some confidential customer details.